NEWS FLASH!

POLISH MUSIC JOURNAL

We are pleased to announce the creation of a new electronic journal. This an academic, peer-reviewed publication devoted to musicological studies of Polish music and music in Poland. The Journal's purpose is to provide a convenient, modern forum for publication of studies of the music that is not
well known in the West. Its first issue has just been
published on our web page (see Journal); the content includes three articles (by Tyrone Greive, Jill Timmons and Sylvain Fremaux, and student winner,
Timothy Cooley) that have been awarded the 1997 Wilk Prizes for Research in Polish Music. One more issue will be published this year. In
1999 we hope to be able to convert the journal into a quarterly. The purpose of this publication is to fill in
the gap between the Polish researchers, publishing in their native
language, and the English-speaking world. Therefore, one or more issues of the PMJ will consists of translations of selected
articles about Polish music written by Polish scholars and originally published in Polish, in the Polish Musicological
Quarterly Muzyka. In order to make use of the capabilities of the electronic media, the
Journal
includes scanned musical examples (score excerpts) and samples of sound illustrations (recordings) for some, or all
of the articles published. The Journal's ID number is: ISSN 1521-6039.

POLISH AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH:ANDRZEJ CHOROSINSKI IN CALIFORNIA

Andrzej CHOROSINSKI (Hoh-ruh-sheen'-skey) is one of Poland's most outstanding organists today. He will give three
concerts in the Los Angeles region this month (listed below in the Calendar). His visit to California is organized
by the
School of Music of the University of Southern California in cooperation with a host of institutions. Particular
credit should be given to Prof. Ladd Thomas, the chair of USC organ class who had just returned from a highly
successful tournee in Poland. Andrzej Chorosinski is the Rector (President) of the F. Chopin Academy of Music
in Warsaw. Several years ago the Academy and the USC School of Music started a professional/student exchange
program. So far composer Andrzej Dutkiewicz and Mr. Chorosinski have participated from the Polish side, while
the American guests in Poland included USC Chamber Singers, Dean Larry Livingston, conductor Daniel Lewis, Prof. Larry Rachless,
and Prof. Ladd Thomas. Mr. Chorosinski's hosts in California include Polish American Congress of Southern
California which will offer a reception after one of his concerts, the District Director of the Polish National
Alliance in California, Mr. Richard Widerynski, with whom Mr. Chorosinski will stay at the outset of his visit here, and, finally,
the PMRC that offered help in some local arrangements, such as advertising the concerts to the Polish community.

Internationally known as an artist and a teacher, Mr. Chorosinski is not only a professor and an academic
administrator, but also a talented composer. His pupils come from all over the world and have won prizes in national and international competitions. As a soloist he has appeared in more than twenty countries, including the U.S., Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Israel and throughout Europe. He has performed in such major venues as the National Philharmonic in Stockholm, the Peter Tschaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Kings College Chapel in Cambridge and the National Philharmonic Hall in Warsaw.

Mr. Chorosinski has made several radio television broadcasts in Poland and abroad and has completed a series of recordings for Polskie Nagrania, Veriton, EMI, Life Recordings and MDG. His compositions embrace chamber, choral, organ and film music. He has led master classes in organ improvisation in Germany and in interpretation of Polish music in Sweden, Finland, Japan and Israel. He also serves as artistic director of the Philharmonia in Jelenia Gora, and serves as President of the Board of Directors of Polish Schools of Art.

Andrzej Chorosinski was born in Warsaw in 1949. He graduated from the Szymanowski State School of Music in
1967 with a Diploma of Distinction in Organ and Music theory. He continued his studies at the Warsaw Academy of Music, graduating with distinction in organ in 1972 and in composition in 1974.
His concerts in California will take place on October 18 in Long Beach (as part of the Long Beach Bach Festival), October
20 in Westwood (at the Westwood United Methodist Church) and on October 25 at the Pasadena Neighborhood
Unitarian Church. Detailed information may be found below, in our calendar of events.

Description:
This conference, the first of its kind, attempts to fill some of the larger gaps in Polish music history by
(1) highlighting the richness of achievements of Polish composers of Jewish descent and Jewish music in Poland
and by (2) emphasizing the complexity of cultural relationships betweent the two ethnic groups, including both
assimilation and coexistence. Invited scholars will discuss the lives and music of individual composers, groups of musicians (klezmer) and communities. Several subjects will be presented for the first time (or for the first time in
North America); the conference will include lectures, lecture-recitals and panel discussions. Scholars from
four countries will discuss music composed in and performed over the past 200 years. Two concerts will
present rarely-heard solo and chamber music of Tansman, Koffler, Friedman, Rosenthal and others.
The conference will end with a roundtable discussion focused on the issue of national and ethnic identity.
It is hoped that by outlining this new subject area the conference will serve to further the Polish -
Jewish dialogue as well as highlight the role of this particular community of musicians for the world.
For more detailed information about the program and registration visit the conference web site:
POLISH/JEWISH/MUSIC!

Co-Sponsors: Polish Ministry of Culture and Arts * Jewish Community Foundation * Ars Musica Poloniae Foundation * Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion * Consulate General of the Republic of Poland, Los Angeles * Polish American Congress and Charities of Southern California * USC Institute for the Study of Jews in American Life * Friends of Polish Music, Los Angeles

POLISH MUSIC FESTIVAL IN EVANSTON

The festival celebrates 80th anniversary of Poland's independence (1918-1998) with a series of concerts and lectures
scheduled for
November 17-24, 1998. The festival will take place at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It's Artistic
Coordinator and Conductor is Mariusz Smolij. It will be the largest single presentation of Polish music that ever
took place in the United States. For more information visit the web-site of the Polish Suburban News, at http://www.polishnews.com, where the Festival
has its own site.

You might order tickets by phone 847/467-4000,by fax: 847/467 - 1831,
or by mail:

Pick-Staiger Concert Hall,

Northwestern University,

1977 South Campus Drive,

Evanston, IL 60208-2420

OTHER NEWS

Kocyan and Radziwonowicz:

Wojciech Kocyan will open the 3rd International Paderewski Piano Competition in Bydgoszcz on the 6th of November
with a performance of Ignacy Jan Paderewski's Piano Concerto in A minor under the baton of famed Polish conductor,
Jerzy Maksymiuk. Kocyan, now a USC doctoral student, is a former winner of this competition. Meanwhile, Polish pianist, Karol Radziwonowicz, the only pianist to have recorded all of
Paderewski's piano works, will be in the jury. Mr. Radziwonowicz is in the process of recording all of Chopin's
orchestral works in a way that Chopin was supposed to have performed them, accompanied by a string quartet instead
of an orchestra.

Ruth Slenczynska:

Ruth Slenczynska, "Child prodigy, legendary pianist and virtuosa" (Ivory Classics) will represent the USA on the jury of the 5th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition to be held at the Music Centre Vredenburg, Utrecht, The Netherlands in 14-27 March 1999. Andrzej Jasinski, teacher of Krystian Zimerman, will represent Poland.
We are happy to report that Ruth Slenczynska Kerr is a long-time member of the Friends of Polish Music @ USC, the support group for the Polish Music Reference Center. She is on the faculty of Southern Illinois U. @ Edwardsville, IL. Look for her CD in the first of a series of historic recordings on Ivory Classics (http://www.IvoryClassics.com). See Discography for more.

Agnieszka Lejman:

Mezzo-soprano, Agnieszka Lejman, will sing songs by Polish composers, Moniuszko and Karlowicz and Mozart's "Allelulia" at the Jubilee Ball, celebrating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Pontificate of Pope John Paul II at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on the 10th of October, sponsored by the Friends of John Paul II Foundation of Southern California, Mr. Cybulski, president. For an invitation call 626-281-0516.

Lason in Maryland:

The National Chamber Orchestra in Maryland will perform "Hymn and Aria" by Aleksander Lason for 12 Feb 1999 with Polish conductor, Miroslaw Blaszczyk.

AWARDS

Krzysztof Penderecki has been named a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters (Am. Record Guide, Sep/Oct 98).

Rafał Kwiatkowski, 20-year-old Polish cellist, is one of the two winners of the Fifth Young Concert Artists European Auditions, sponsored
by the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy." Over 100 artists from 29 countries applied to the competition. The
award included accomodations and travel to New York (by Lufthansa) to participate in the Semi-Finals and Finals of the
Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In addition the prize includes DM 1,000 cash, musical scores from
Barenreiter Publishers, and concerts in Leipzig, at the Usedom Festival in Northern Germany and at the Schlesisches Musik Festival in Poland.
The other winner of the competition is 21-year-old Czech pianist, Martin Kasik. For more information contact Young Concert Artists
Inc. in New York by phone (212-307-6655) or at their web-site: http://www.yca.org.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

OCT 1: Zbigniew Preisner's Requiem at the National Opera House, Warsaw. 7:00 p.m. Jacek Kasprzyk, cond. European
Premiere. Gala performance to celebrate the International Day of Music.

OCT 2: Stanisław Moniuszko's Halka at the National Opera House, Warsaw. Celebration of the the 3rd International Vocal Competition named after the composer.

OCT 3: WQXR Broadcast of the opening of the Kosciuszko Foundation 1998-1999 Chamber Music Series: The Lyric Piano Quartet performing music of Joaquin Turina, Wladyslaw Zelenski and Brahms at the K. F. in New York city. Saturday @ 9:00 p.m. EST. The concert was held at the K.F. on Sunday, 27 Sep.

DISCOGRAPHY:

by Wanda Wilk

Music by Wieniawski Brothers:

Dramatic and rarely heard music of Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880) and his brother Jozef has just been released
by the Polish label SELENE (71232580362). Jozef was also a composer and a pianist and his music is still
relatively unknown. What some music lovers may not know is that the Wieniawski brothers toured the United
States in concert. Henryk composed a "Souvenir de San Francisco," (ca 1874) which was published by Morrison,
an American publisher, and dedicated to Conchita Blum Gomez. The recording is available in North America through the
company of Mr. Lewandowski, Music from Poland. Phone: 650--341-3541, e-mail: edmund@sofia.com.

From Ivory Classics:

Ivory Classics launches The Art of the Piano Simply the Best Piano Recordings' in the Grand Tradition Series with two recordings:

CD 70804: Ralph Votapek plays Ginastera, Szymanowski, Poulence and Piazzolla. The great American pianist, who won the Gold Medal at the First International Van Cliburn Piano Competition plays "Masques" by Karol Szymanowski.

There is also a new recording on Ivory: CD 70701: Earl Wild playing all 21 Chopin Nocturnes.

From Philips:

Philips has embarked on "the most ambitious piano project in the history of recording." This is how International Piano Quarterly described the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series. It will involve 100 volumes, with the first 20 volumes already available.
Those dealing with music by Polish composers or Polish artists are:

I hope the company will release Claudio Arrau's Chopin performances. He is included in the anthology: the
second disc of this series features Arrau playing Albeniz/Bach/Balakirev/Brahms/Liszt.
My reason for this is because his Chopin style was so highly respected by the late Witold Lutoslawski.
During one of my conversations with him, I made a remark that one needs to be Polish to play Chopin with real
feeling. The composer disagreed and pointed to Claudio Arrau as the best example of a non-Pole playing
Chopin's music with a truly "Polish" soul.

Note: Several of these CDs are reviewed in the Oct 1998 issue of Gramaphone magazine, along with a
special article on Claudio Arrau by Jed Distler.

From Nimbus Records:

Nimbus Records Catalogue does not feature as many Polish composers as Naxos (and they are now spelling
Rachmaninoff as Rakhmaninov), but it does have several Chopin discs (Vlado Perlemuter, Shura Cherkassky;
Marta Deyanova); there is also a mazurka composed by Sir Edward Elgar and played by the English Symphony Orchestra. Martin
Jones's recording of Szymanowski's Complete Piano Music v. 1 & 2 is also available.
However, the company makes up for this scarcity of Polish composers by including many Polish artists in their
Grand Piano series, which "presents major performances by the legendary pianists who recorded Duo-Art piano rolls for the New York based Aeolian Company between 1913 and 1930. Each Grand Piano release contains rare archival photos and extensive liner notes written by the noted pianist and piano historian David Dubal."

Nimbus also has a Prima Voce series which includes old 78s recordings transferred to compact discs. Of the several Polish vocalists the
following are worth noting:

NI 7855: Marcella Sembrich (Kochańska) in the "Great Singers in New York. The age of Caruso." Recordings from 1906-1923.

NI 7840/1: Edouard de Reszke is included in this 2 CD. But where is the other brother, the
legendary Jean de Reszke?

Other Releases:

Philips 454 480-2)H. "Souvenir" features music by Szymanowski, Wieniawski and Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky.
Violinist Akiko Suwanai and pianist Philip Moll present a "flawless recording" - so says Rob Cowan
(Gramaphone, October 1998). Szymanowski's "Myths," especially the "Dryades et Pan" and the Wieniawski
"Souvenir de Moscou" & the Scherzo-Tarantelle in G minor are the most enjoyable.

Altarus AIR-CD9094: Godowsky's Studies on Chopin Etudes & Chopin Waltzes. Carlo Grante, piano.
Reviewer Bryce Morrison writes: "This is the third and final volume in Carlo Grante's recording of the 53
Chopin-Godowsky Etudes, a Herculean task accomplished with aristocratic ease and felicitous musical quality.
Disarming to the last, Godowsky denies any wish to gild the lily, saying, the author would strongly
condemn any artist for tampering ever so little with such works as those of Chopin.'"

100 YEARS AGO:POLISH PIANISTS IN THE U.S.

by Barbara Zakrzewska-Nikiporczyk

In 1898 several famous Polish musicians performed in many American cities. In this series of reports from
100 years ago, we will present musical activities of these musicians, beginning from selected events in
the career of Leopold Godowsky (b. in Soshly near Vilnius, 1870, d. in New York, 21 Nov. 1938).

Leopold GODOWSKY gave his first concert in the U.S. in 1884. He was only 14 years old at that time,[1]
but he was already a concert-stage veteran: he
began concertizing at the age of nine with a tour through Germany and Poland. In 1890 he took the position of
a lecturer at the New York College of Music. In 1891 Godowsky married a
singer, Frieda Saxe, and received American citizenship. In the following decade he focused on teaching and concertizing.
In 1894-95 Godowsky taught at the Broad Street Conservatory, Philadelphia. For five years, 1895-1900, he served as
chairman of the piano department at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. During that time he gave many
piano recitals at the Conservatory, which brought him great fame. His third recital on January 6, 1898 had the
following program:

Beethoven: 32 Variations in C minor

Schumann: Fantasia C major op.17

Chopin: Scherzo B minor op.31

Chopin: Impromptu F sharp major, op.36

Chopin: Sonata in B-minor op.35

Liszt: Pesther Carnival (Rhapsody no. 9)

On January 19, 1898, Godowsky gave the fourth recital at the Chicago Conservatory. The program included:

Mendelssohn: Variations serieuses in D minor op.54

Bülow-Bach: Fantasia and Fugue in D minor

Beethoven: Sonata in D minor op.31 nr 2

Schumann: Papillons

Chopin: Polonaise-Fantasia in A flat major op.61

Chopin: Berceuse op.57

Chopin: Barcarolle op.60

Chopin: Polonaise in F sharp minor op.44

Liszt: Eclogue. At the spring, from "The Years of Pilgrimage"

Liszt: Spanish Rhapsody

All of Godowsky's programs included works by Chopin, accompanied with a variety of other composers, and, sometimes
Godowsky's own compositions. On March 11, 1898, during his 5th recital held at the Chicago Conservatory, the pianist
performed his virtuosic work, Moto perpetuo. The full program reads as follows:[2]

Grieg: Ballade (Variations on a Norwegian theme)

Schubert-Liszt: Ave Maria. Hark, Hark, the Lark

Schumann: 12 Symphonic Etudes op.13

Chopin: Scherzo in C sharp minor op.39,

Chopin: Ballade in A flat major op.47,

Chopin: Polonaise in A flat major op.53

Godowsky: Moto Perpetuo

Liszt: Concert Etude in F minor,

Liszt: Concert Etude in D flat major

Liszt: Sonata in B minor.

Godowsky's preference for coupling virtuosic compositions and transcriptions with monumental works may be
seen in the following program given during his sixth recital at the Chicago Conservatory, on March 30, 1898.
His ability to present so many large-scale works at such short intervals should also be admired.
The program included:[3]

Beethoven: Sonata op. 57 in F-minor

Schumann: Davidsbuendler (18 pieces) op. 6

Brahms: Paganini Variations op. 35

Rubinstein: Barcarole nr 5 in A minor

Strauss-Tausig: Valse "Man lebt nur Einmal" op. 167

Chopin: IV Scherzo in E major op. 54,

Chopin: Etudes op. 25 nr 1-3 ,

Chopin: Ballade in G minor op. 23

Wagner-Bülow: Quintet from the 3rd act of Meistersingers

Wagner-Liszt: Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde

Liszt: Two Concert Etudes - Gnomenreigen and Waldesrauschen

Weber-Tausig: Invitation to Dance

During 1898 in Chicago Godowsky met the violinist, Henri Marteau. The musicians began to play together,
just for the pleasure of music-making. They worked on the Schuman's Violin Sonatas op. 105 and op. 121
as well as Brahms's Violin Sonata in C-minor op. 113. [4] These works, however
were not featured during the two subsequent Chicago recitals of Godowsky. During the seventh recital
of the year, on May 3, 1898, Godowsky played: [5]

Recitals no. 7 and 8 included music composed or transcribed by Godowsky. On May 31, 1898, during his 8th
recital, the pianist performed:

Mendelssohn: Prelude and Fugue in E-minor op.35 nr 1

Brahms: Paganini Variations op.35

Schumann: Kreisleriana op.16

Godowsky: Dämmerungsbilder in E flat major, No 1

Godowsky: Etude in E flat major,

Godowsky: Scherzino in C-minor No 1,

Godowsky: Arabesque

Godowsky: Barcarolle - Valse

Liszt: Two Legends: I. St. Paul, II. St. Francis of Asisi

Rosenthal: Etude on a Theme of Chopin's Waltz

Wagner-Liszt: Ouverture to Tannhauser

In July 1898 W.S.B.Mathews described his impressions from Godowsky's interpretations of Brahms
piano pieces during a concert that also took place in Chicago. At that time the pianist played
Scherzo in E flat minor, Händel's Variations, Paganini's variations, ballads and intermezzos.[6] In October the same writer praised Godowsky's own compositions and pointed out about the necessity of their
publication. Simultaneously Godowsky began to be active in the Chicago Manuscript Society, which
made plans to publish his music.[7] During the October 7th, 1989 recital
held in the Chicago Auditorium Recital Hall Godowsky performed three sonatas for violin and piano with
with the violinist Theodore Spiering: Sonata in G major op. 78 by Johann Brahms, Sonata in F majaor op. 8 by Edward
Grieg, and Cesar Frank's celebrated Sonata in A major.[8]On November 4, the second recital of the same
pair of musicians (at the University Hall, Chicago) included
Brahms's Sonata in D-minor op.108, Berger's Sonata in F-major op. 29, and
Grieg's Sonata in G-major op. 13. [9]

The concertizing activities did not end with these two chamber recitals. In December 1898 Godowsky gave
a series of solo piano recitals in Baltimore, Boston and Chicago with the following program:

Schumann: Carnaval

Liszt: Eclogue, At the spring, Etude f-minor

Brahms-Paganini: Variations

Chopin: Sonata in B-minor op.58

Godowsky: Moto Perpetuo,

Godowsky:Capriccio,

Godowsky: Valse Idylle,

Godowsky:Badinage,

Godowsky:Concert Paraphrase of a Waltz by Chopin op.18

Wagner-Liszt: Ouverture to Tannhäuser

Also in December, the virtuoso pianist performed Saint-Saens's Concerto in G minor in New York and in
St. Louis (with Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paur).[10]Godowsky's concerts
received good reviews, but despite these American successes he decided to return to Europe in 1900, settling first
in Berlin, and then in Vienna (since 1909). [11]